TMZ.com Home

Knowledge is power, and for a little while, it'll also be free ... so long as you use the online company hooking up parents with a homeschooling curriculum.

That's right -- panic-stricken moms and dads scrambling to keep their children learning and up to date in their academics, now have a free option for online education from a company called Calvert.

While several millions of households are dealing with closed schools due to the coronavirus ... Calvert is offering its online homeschool system for free for the next 3 months. Starting Tuesday night, Calvert will allow parents to sign up and use their services to teach their kids.

Calvert tells us it started with a 30-day free trial -- but, presumably, because of the overwhelming amount of new users ... they decided to extend that through July. At that point, parents will have to pay.

The company offers K-12 course bundle packages that normally go for anywhere from $1,300 to $2,800 for a whole year. The higher the grade level, the more subjects there are to dive into and study.

NBA superstar Joel Embiid is gunning to help those in need "do a 180" during the coronavirus pandemic ... donating HALF A MILLION DOLLARS to medical relief.

But, the 76ers center isn't stopping there -- the 26-year-old is vowing to financially support team staffers who have been asked to take a pay cut during the NBA suspension.

As Adrian Wojnarowski reported Tuesday morning ... 76ers employees who make more than $50k a year are being required to accept a 20% salary reduction ... and the remaining staffers have been asked to voluntarily take the cut.

The amount Embiid will shell out for his fellow Sixers employees will depend on how many will need financial support during the league's hiatus.

Embiid joins fellow NBA superstars like Kevin Love, Zion Williamson and Giannis Antetokounmpo who have vowed to support arena and team staffers during the coronavirus suspension.

This will put a smile on President Trump's face ... the Lt. Gov. of Texas says to hell with social distancing, because old folks should risk death by COVID-19, so the economy can start recovering.

Yes, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick told Tucker Carlson Monday evening, "Those of us who are 70-plus, we'll take care of ourselves, but don't sacrifice the country. Don't do that. Don't ruin this great American dream."

Patrick, who acknowledged he is a grandfather, was 100 percent echoing the President's sentiment during an earlier briefing on coronavirus. Trump says he's strongly considering ending social distancing after just 2 weeks.

POTUS stressed he wants to get America back up and running. Of course, the problem with that is several hundred Americans could be dying EVERY day at that point ... due to the spread of the virus.

That would seem to be an odd time to stop doing what every scientist says will prevent the virus from spreading and killing more people.

Still, if the President proceeds ... you can count in grandpa Patrick, who says he's willing to risk dying -- "We can't lose our whole country, we're having an economic collapse."

Oprah's longtime partner, Stedman, isn't getting any snuggles during these days of sheltering at home -- he's in the guesthouse ... but you could call it the dog house, too.

Oprah's been quarantining at her home in Santa Barbara, CA during the coronavirus pandemic, but in an interview with her magazine she revealed her longtime partner is separately self-isolating in their guesthouse for an important reason ... to protect her health.

O says she's more at-risk because she had pneumonia late last year and just recently got off meds following a bronchial infection ... but it's still mostly Stedman's fault he's not able to be by her side now.

She claims Stedman's "one of those" people who didn't take the COVID-19 crisis seriously enough and was "late to the party" in getting onboard with taking precautions.

In fact, Oprah says Stedman flew from Chicago to California just on Thursday and when he asked her what the procedure was for coming home, she says she told him ... "The procedure is...you ain't coming and sleeping in my bed!"

Oprah says she added ... "Have you not been paying attention to the news? Social-distancing does not mean you go and sleep in the same bed with the person. When you just got off American Airlines!"

O says it's all good, though, and Stedman's happy to be keeping her safe. She says she and her girls bring him meals daily and they have "love chats" ... with a window between them.

For the record, he's not tested positive for coronavirus either ... they are just being extra-careful, and it's only for a couple weeks, right?

Feeling stressed over coronavirus and quarantines? Terrell Davis has the perfect solution -- GET OFF YOUR BUTT AND GET A WORKOUT IN!!!

The former Super Bowl champ offered up the advice to TMZ Sports ... saying breaking a sweat can REALLY help people get over the COVID-19 blues.

"It's great for stress," TD says. "It's a great stress reliever. We're all going through these times, uncertain times. Everybody's feeling the pinch, and you can feel real stressed out. So working out a routine is always good."

The Denver Broncos legend is certainly practicing what he's preaching ... the 47-year-old posted a workout vid over the weekend -- and the dude is JACKED.

He tells us he doesn't have a magic formula for getting as ripped as he is ... but his advice to those who want to get on the journey is simple -- start small!

"Find something that you want to do and stick with it," Davis says. "Don't pick something that's too hard that you're not going to want to do every day."

As for Davis -- who's killing it in the CBD business with his DEFY sports drink company -- he says he's feeling so good these days ... the thought of possibly playing ball again has crossed his mind.

Therapists aren't going to stop putting patients on the couch due to the coronavirus outbreak -- they just have to find creative ways to do it ... billing included.

TMZ spoke with a number of therapists and patients across 3 states, and what we're hearing is that one-one-one sessions continue to be the norm during the outbreak. However, with the mandate for social distancing ... those appointments have moved to digital platforms.

As the "Peanuts" character, Lucy, would say, the doctor is still in -- but she's having phone convos or video chats with patients from home.

The biggest hurdle with the new format comes down to money. Shrinks are still charging top dollar even if all the communication is virtual -- but we're told some insurance companies won't cover telemedicine methods.

One option for patients appears to be going through a company called Doxy.Me, which lets doctors and patients hop into a private chat while honoring HIPPA.

That's one loophole, and a necessary one. Obviously, there's been plenty of upheaval in society that might prompt one to seek professional help -- as we did recently with Dr. Phil on "TMZ Live."

Our sources tell us some therapists are simply playing a good samaritan and only charging patients their out of pocket co-payments, if their insurance won't cover video or phone sessions.

Yes, Jeremy Renner's made bank as one of "The Avengers," but the pandemic has left him short on funds, just like millions of unemployed Americans ... according to Jeremy.

Hawkeye filed docs Monday in L.A., asking a judge show some mercy when it comes to how much he has to pay his ex, Sonny Pacheco, in child support. In the docs, obtained by TMZ, he says his financial circumstances have changed dramatically in recent weeks. Tell us about it.

Jeremy says he knew 2020 would be a down year for him, financially, since his work in "The Avengers" films is done -- but he says he did have some work lined up. Then, the pandemic set in, and "it is likely that most productions will not resume again prior to the end of the year. As such, the projects that I had previously lined up to film this year are likely cancelled or postponed."

He says he's currently paying about $30k per month, tax-free, for their daughter Ava's housing, food, transportation and clothing. Jeremy has some issues with how, he claims, Sonny is using the funds.

He alleges she's using it as a "slush fund" to support her lifestyle and to wage a child custody war against him in court. In docs, his attorney says, "Sonny's voracious appetite for Jeremy's money has no end in sight."

Jeremy's got serious trust issues with Sonny, and is asking the judge to let his business managers have sole control over the funds in Ava's account. Due to his financial situation, he wants the amount of support reduced.

While he doesn't ask for a specific number, Jeremy does say he believes Ava's "reasonable needs" come to about $11k per month.

Bill Maher has been worrying out loud for a year that Donald Trump might declare Martial Law and not willingly leave The White House when his time is up, and although Martial Law probably is not in the cards, Trump could make a play to delay the election and -- it could work.

We spoke with one of the national authorities in constitutional law -- University of North Carolina Law Professor Michael Gerhardt -- who says Trump does NOT have the power to postpone the election if the coronavirus is still out of control come Fall.

That said, Gerhardt is way more worried about Trump trying it anyway. It would go something like this .... people are still locked inside, candidates can't really campaign, so what if he decides to move the election 6 months down the road or even longer?

Gerhardt says that worries him. What worries him more is that the Supreme Court is now stacked in Trump's favor, and Gerhardt notes SCOTUS has not broken with Trump on major issues.

Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard are doing their part to help financially-strapped folks living in the L.A. buildings they own ... by waiving rent for April.

TMZ's learned the married couple decided to forgo rent collection for next month amid the coronavirus pandemic, during which many of their tenants are without jobs as California is under a "stay at home" order.

We're told a manager of Pringus Property LLC -- Kristen and Dax's company that owns at least 2 residential buildings -- emailed all tenants this weekend to give them the good news.

Our sources say the message expressed empathy and encouragement, and the manager -- who we're told is Dax's sister -- promised to work with residents going forward as best as possible as everyone learns to adjust to the public health crisis.

With more than 100 million Americans now ordered to stay inside, unemployment is skyrocketing and making rent is going to be a major concern across the country.

Many landlords are giving tenants a pass for now -- as Kristen and Dax have. The issue will be how long the outbreak continues, and how much leniency those landlords can afford residents.

Dr. Phil has a good idea of what you're gonna be into when the coronavirus pandemic subsides -- some of you will make up for lost time, and some will move on from significant others.

The good doc was on "TMZ Live" to talk about the aftermath of all this change we're currently going through. In other words ... what's gonna happen when you can finally socialize again, face-to-face?

Dr. Phil says he expects Americans to be a little scared to get back out there, at first ... due to understandable concerns about the virus. But, once group gathering restrictions are lifted, he sees people will get back in the swing of making real human contact -- and they'll do it with vigor.